The present invention is directed to a conveyor belt cleaner, and in particular to a conveyor belt cleaner including one or more scraper blades slidably mounted to a cartridge wherein the cartridge is slidably mounted on a support shaft, such that the cartridge and scraper blade assembly is selectively slidably removable and replaceable from the support shaft.
Conveyor belt cleaners include scraper blades that engage a moving conveyor belt to remove conveyed material that continues to adhere to the belt after the remainder of the conveyed material has been discharged. Scraper blades wear or become damaged during use and periodically require replacement. Conveyors are typically shut down when scraper blades require replacement so that service personnel can obtain access to the scraper blades for removal and replacement while avoiding injury that could potentially occur if the conveyor belt were moving. Conveyor belt cleaners also often require service due to a buildup of the conveyed material on the scraper blade after the material has been removed from the belt which decreases the cleaning efficiency of the scraper blade. The present invention allows the removal and replacement of scraper blades while the conveyor remains in operation and reduces material buildup on the scraper blades to provide increased cleaning efficiency over the life of the scraper blades.
A conveyor belt cleaner including a scraper blade mounting assembly and one or more conveyor belt cleaner scraper blades. The mounting assembly includes a cross shaft having a first end, a second end and a generally linear central axis. The first and second ends of the cross shaft are adapted to be mounted to a support structure such as a conveyor chute. The mounting assembly includes a cartridge having a first end, a second end, a first sleeve and a second sleeve. The first sleeve includes a first leg and a second leg spaced apart from the first leg. A chamber is formed between the first and second legs which is adapted to receive the cross shaft such that the cartridge is slidable with respect to the cross shaft along the central axis, but such that the cartridge is not rotatable about the central axis with respect to the cross shaft. The first sleeve includes a slot that extends from the first end to the second end of the cartridge and that is in communication with the chamber. The second sleeve includes a generally T-shaped channel adapted to slidably mount the scraper blades to the cartridge. A respective slide bracket is attached to each end of the cross shaft. Each slide bracket includes a bottom wall and a raised support ridge extending upwardly from the bottom wall which is attached to the cross shaft and which spaces the cross shaft apart from the bottom wall of the slide bracket. The raised ridge is adapted to be located within the slot of the cartridge such that the cartridge can be slid with respect to the cross shaft along the central axis past the slide bracket. The mounting assembly includes a mounting bracket adapted to be attached to the stationary structure which includes a guideway adapted to slidably receive the slide bracket. A tensioner is located between the mounting bracket and the slide bracket. The slide bracket is vertically slidable within the guideway with respect to the mounting bracket. The tensioner provides sliding movement of the slide bracket, cross shaft and cartridge with respect to the mounting bracket.
The scraper blade includes a mounting base formed from an elastomeric material including a generally T-shaped mounting flange which is adapted to be slidably inserted within the channel of the second sleeve of the cartridge. The mounting base also includes an arm having a top end, a bottom end attached to the mounting flange, a front surface and a rear surface. The scraper blade also includes a scraping element formed from a metal material having a generally planar lower portion and generally planar upper portion, the lower portion being disposed at an angle to the upper portion. The lower portion of the scraping element is embedded within the arm between the front surface and the rear surface of the arm. The upper portion of the scraping element includes a scraping tip adapted to engage a conveyor belt. The front surface of the arm is generally planar and is disposed at an angle to the upper portion of the scraping element. The scraping tip is pivotal about a pivot axis that is offset from a plane containing the upper portion of the scraping element.